Actual shot time?

[nybuckboy]

Just curious here.  What is a good time from the point that you begin to pull the bow back, then get on your target and release til arrow hits at say 20 yds.  As some of you know I’ve been shooting in a league for about 7 weeks now. My goal has never been to win or be the best in the league. My goal was to develop a perfect mental and physical routine to efficiently get on target and release for hunting purposes.  Thoughts?

[Jeremy K]

For me ,it depends on what kind of cover i have around my stand . I want to be at full draw before the deer gets into the point where there is no longer anything interrupting my sight of the deer. Unfortunately , i have never had a shot during league that feels the same as any shot at a live deer.

[airedale]

23 minutes ago, nybuckboy said:

My goal was to develop a perfect mental and physical routine to efficiently get on target and release for hunting purposes.  Thoughts?

No expert here but I have messed around with archery for a good many years and this is what I have learned.

That goal will come naturally with practice and a lot of it. As for actual time from draw to release there are many factors that will determine that such as effort to pull back your bow and your physical strength, also the let off if you are using a compound as some let offs are much more than others. Shooting with a tab or a glove vs a release makes a big difference.

I shoot all my bows with three fingers and a glove, no sights. Never actually timed my shots but with my recurves I pull up and draw and as soon as I am lined up I release, I do not hold at full draw very long. With my compounds I draw the same way but because they are much easier to hold back at full draw I will take a bit more lining up my shot.

With plenty of practice you will get a feel and a confidence for being able to make your shot which for me is more important than actual time.

Al

[Robhuntandfish]

i wouldnt worry about time when it comes to hunting - i would only worry about form and shot placement.   If you develop the correct and repetitive form you will do this when you draw back on a deer and the adrenaline is flowing.  To have a specific amount of time would be impossible for me to gauge when it applies to hunting.  I usually draw when I think the shot is about to become available and the deer isnt going to see me.  Sometimes that means holding the draw until the shot is right or sometimes it means to shoot right away.  A general practice shot would think about 5 seconds but I practice by holding longer many times to prepare for those days when you have to.  Have held shots for a long time to get the right angle or have the deer take one more step...cant put a def number on it.  

[G-Man]

Pull.aim release.. about 1.5.sec max.. I do the same hunting.. I see no reason to aim forever at a target. Plan your draw .. aim and squeeze  or if your old school fingers release..

I have a friend who can hold a bow for a long time. He doesn't get to many deer. Robin hood arrows all day. the longer you hold the worse your shot it seems.. knowing when to draw so you don't have to hold is much more important imo. 

[G-Man]

Picture the target walking behind a tree. 2 steps and it's clear..that's how long you need to hold.. some times is quick sometimes it stops and you may have to let down.. and re draw later.. the letting down slow is what is really.needed to be practiced.!!! Heavy poindage is what ruins alot of hunts.. holding at max let off is easy. Heavy poundage again is the hardest same as drawing slow with push pull method holding it on target to best of your ability.. 

[NFA-ADK]

I would say less than 7 seconds from start of draw to shot with about 3-6 seconds being the average time I probably shoot, more and I will start having some issues.  When at full draw I try not to hold more than 10 seconds unless hunting, in competition I tend to shoot within 2-5 seconds of full draw, any longer and it will probably be a bad shot for me.  

I also try to draw  below the target and rise into it as I feel going down from top gives me more target panic issues.  Going from low to high is much harder fighting gravity and makes me slow down a bit vs punching once it's on target.  I also try to draw directly on target as this makes it easy to keep it in the bow sight. 

[moog5050]

3-5 seconds usually but there are times I intentionally hold longer when practicing. 

[G-Man]

Found this excerpt from an article on judging a buck and shooting it.

There are typically 10 seconds or less to judge an animal, grab your bow and then execute the shot. The majority of my oldest buck harvests have taken place within a very brief moment of time. Several times I have shot the actual target buck we were after, and really didn't know it was that buck until I stood over it's expired body. Why? Because when mature buck hunting I have found a decision based on maturity needs to take place in 2 seconds or less if he is within bow range. I have also found that rarely did I have time to actually count the number of points! This means there is absolutely zero time for judging the size of the front shoulders vs the hindquarters, the sag in the back or belly, or the line of the neck to the brisket. The process is confusing enough without adding a checklist of 8 must-see physical features to be able to judge an animal, so I am looking forward to sharing an efficient process with you that has worked well for me. 

so I would say you have 10 sec from time you see deer target to pick up draw aim and release..if you keep hunting scenarios in mind while shooting 3d

Edited March 12, 2018 by G-Man

[NFA-ADK]

Funny you mention 10 seconds, I had this doe stop for a full 10 seconds to allow me to pick that hair I wanted to aim at.  Starts around 1:18. 

 

Edited March 12, 2018 by NFA-ADK

[moog5050]

12 minutes ago, NFA-ADK said:

Funny you mention 10 seconds, I had this doe stop for a full 10 seconds to allow me to pick that hair I wanted to aim at.  Starts around 1:18. 

 

I know its the fish eye lens, but looked like a 100yd shot!

[NFA-ADK]

The gopro makes it look much further than it was, only a 25 yard shot.  But I will tell everyone it was 50! lol

[DirtTime]

I think this depends on a few factors. Private land where you can clear shooting lanes, or public land where you cannot. Tree stand, hub-popup blind on the ground, man made blind, or just kneeling in some brush.

All of these situations carry a variant on when to draw and how long you have to hold it. I hunt from the ground and mainly public land that's rarely wide open. So I have to set up for natural shooting lanes. Which means, maybe having to hold my draw longer then my arms and shoulders want me too. Even with todays high let offs, holding your arms up for a long period of time can get to be a strain.

 

I don't shoot traditional bow, but from what I have read that's a pure science on when to draw, and release. 

Edited March 12, 2018 by Rob...

[Buckstopshere]

8 hours ago, nybuckboy said:

Just curious here.  What is a good time from the point that you begin to pull the bow back, then get on your target and release til arrow hits at say 20 yds.  As some of you know I’ve been shooting in a league for about 7 weeks now. My goal has never been to win or be the best in the league. My goal was to develop a perfect mental and physical routine to efficiently get on target and release for hunting purposes.  Thoughts?

That is exactly why I joined the local winter archery league, years ago. (And because I switched from right to left handed bow.) In a hunting situation, the muscle memory kicks in. Sometimes it's a quick shot, other times...the seconds tick on at full draw. Practice makes perfect.

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

I never use a time frame but always pratice these things in my head and when drawing on a deer,,,, anchor point,, find my target and follow the arrow through...

The last seems to be the most important Ive been doing that while practicing and hunting for years now..

[doebuck1234]

Hard to really place it as others said above.depends on cover etc etc.normally shots seem to be under 10 secs by time draw steady and release.have had a few times i had to draw back down and thats tough.have blew it a few times and others times have gotten away with slowly drawing back down without being spotted

[Doc]

Perfect shot timing and procedure is a luxury usually afforded only on the practice range. Since a deer seldom is a wide open stationary target, it's pretty important to be able to incorporate some variability into your shooting procedure. They don't often pose for the shot. It is amazing how often they will move their vitals behind a tree or some brush while you are trying to tick off all that perfect timing of the shot. You may have to hold at full draw a lot longer than is comfortable. Occasionally you will have to let-down and wait to start all over again. Every practice session should include some variability so that you know what will happen when the unexpected happens.

[nyslowhand]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

..... Every practice session should include some variability so that you know what will happen when the unexpected happens.

Didn't you mean; be better prepared when the unexpected does happen, which it seems to always occur in a hunting situation! Not so sure you can anticipate the unexpected, would be nice though..!?! 

Some great advice already given, but there are a couple other things that might help. Stand location and practicing a semi-concealed draw technique. I'm not 35yo anymore, actually 2X that, so I've used these to help my minimal hold time at full draw to my advantage.

[Doc]

5 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

Didn't you mean; be better prepared when the unexpected does happen, which it seems to always occur in a hunting situation! Not so sure you can anticipate the unexpected, would be nice though..!?! 

Some great advice already given, but there are a couple other things that might help. Stand location and practicing a semi-concealed draw technique. I'm not 35yo anymore, actually 2X that, so I've used these to help my minimal hold time at full draw to my advantage.

What I meant is that I see so many people at the range shoot off arrow after arrow trying to develop that perfect shot routine that is the same cadence for every shot and they never get to practice shots that get delayed at full draw. It does affect the shot sequence, and it doesn't hurt to simulate what happens when draw hold starts to push the limits. Trying to settle the pin back down when you have been holding longer than you practiced can have surprising effects if you have not practiced that scenario very much.

[dbHunterNY]

by all means draw as early as you feel you need to and can hold it. if you're actively aiming for more than 5 seconds, in the competition world and personal experience, things go downhill in a hurry. 3-4 seconds is my sweet spot most of the time where the pin is floating and motion tightens up to dead nuts before the shot breaks.  on a deer it's usually faster when i think about it but my point of aim is a little bigger so i'm less fussy.

[dbHunterNY]

2 hours ago, Doc said:

What I meant is that I see so many people at the range shoot off arrow after arrow trying to develop that perfect shot routine that is the same cadence for every shot and they never get to practice shots that get delayed at full draw. It does affect the shot sequence, and it doesn't hurt to simulate what happens when draw hold starts to push the limits. Trying to settle the pin back down when you have been holding longer than you practiced can have surprising effects if you have not practiced that scenario very much.

my experience is people take too long at the range and don't take enough time in a hunting situation. it just takes diligence and practice shooting live deer. i've mentored other hunters in a hunting situation getting them to be patient and it's like they're losing the sh*t.  they have this mind set like if they don't shoot when the very first marginal opportunity arises they never get another one. actively preparing for the shot is different than actually shooting.

[G-Man]

7 hours ago, Doc said:

What I meant is that I see so many people at the range shoot off arrow after arrow trying to develop that perfect shot routine that is the same cadence for every shot and they never get to practice shots that get delayed at full draw. It does affect the shot sequence, and it doesn't hurt to simulate what happens when draw hold starts to push the limits. Trying to settle the pin back down when you have been holding longer than you practiced can have surprising effects if you have not practiced that scenario very much.

Well said! I stopped shooting same target to group arrows for a life like setting one shot per target no range finder .Nock draw aim release..on to next target.. one of.my.best friends aims forever at a target has great groups amd.robinhoods arrows ..but put a deer in front of him and his method falls apart.. I truly believe the game is mental.. I love putting a target under limbs or behind trees where you have to pick much narrower target points or take the high lung or liver shot the angle presents.. 

I know there is a wait for perfect shot feeling out there but I'd still be waiting and would of passed up many deer waiting for perfect..instead I practice realistically  and built my.confidence to make the shot that presents itself

[Nomad]

Never owned a range finder, frankly I don’t see the purpose,   but my shots are all close , never shot a second arrow from the same spot in practice .

Have no idea how long I hold  and  frankly the situation dictates that . A freind and I used to hold at full draw for one minute,  before firing , in practice just for fun.

i didnt see much difference in shot placement .

[nybuckboy]

When I spoke 

On 3/12/2018 at 12:07 PM, nybuckboy said:

My goal was to develop a perfect mental and physical routine to efficiently get on target and release for hunting purposes.  

As my original post states above... the whole reason I'm shooting in the league is to be able to when I may need to, is to be able to pull back, get on target and release for hunting purposes. I prefer to wait til the shot is there or to  position my shot ahead of a slow walking deer and pull back and get set and move my pin onto the animal and release.

Edited March 14, 2018 by nybuckboy